Wireline Bureau Order Seeks to Speed Copper Retirements
The FCC Wireline Bureau on Thursday authorized carriers to “grandfather” interconnected VoIP services provisioned over copper lines and waived an “associated requirement to file an application with the Commission” under agency discontinuance rules. The bureau also waived for two years “the need for carriers applying for section 214(a) discontinuance authority to follow the testing methodology and parameters described in the 2016 Technology Transitions Order and its Technical Appendix.”
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The bureau took the actions on its own motion. Speeding copper retirements has been a top focus of Chairman Brendan Carr (see 2504030011). The order said the changes are “consistent with the Commission’s mandate to ‘encourage deployment of next-generation networks and to close the digital divide,'” as well as “facilitate the transition from legacy networks comprised of copper to more advanced alternatives.”